>> this is "bbc world news america." funding of this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu, newman's own foundation, and union bank. >> at union bank, our relationship managers work hard to know your business, offering specialized solutions and capital to help you meet your growth objectives. we offer expertise and tailored

solutions for small businesses and major corporations. what can we do for you? >> and now, "bbc world news america." >> this is bbc world news america. reporting from washington, kathy kaye. egypt's president says his heart is heavy, but he promises there will be no return to the days of dictatorship lighting a joint is now legal in washington. >> i hope that nobody in the world will be sent to prison for taking drugs ever again. i hope that anybody who lies a drug problem will get help. >> and he is the monster of concrete with curbs.

capitald his nation's and touched the world. welcome to our viewers on public television in america and around the globe. after days of demonstrations, the egyptian president has appeared on national television to try to allay fears over his leadership. muhamed morsi said dialogue was needed to solve this crisis. he has invited all major political factions to a meeting on saturday. but he is refusing to rescind his sweeping new powers in a constitution drafted by his allies. here is the latest. >> thanks and barbara are outside the presidential palace in cairo. after a night of violence, the republican guard moved in and demanded protesters leave the area. they are now protecting a

beleaguered president morsi. some are still maintaining a vigil outside. >> mohammad morsi, one of the biggest opponents of the old regime, is now holed up with the army protecting him inside the presidential palace while his opponents protest outside. >> increasingly, the jansing is calling for the president to go. -- of the chanting is calling for the president to go. >> we want his resignation and a constitution. we are protesting against morsi. >> but tonight, the president gave a defiant address on television. while calling for dialogue, he offered few concessions and blamed supporters of the old regime for the recent violence. >> my responsibility, as i define it, is to look after the s protect theter

state institutions. i will carry on this duty respective of the pressures upon me. >> in the protests last night, six people died. it brought the crisis to a head. members of the opposition said the trouble started when supporters of the president at deliberately attacked protesters. members of his supporters said they were attacked by protesters. >> his presidency is completely discredited. he is not trusted by the bulk of e egyptians. egyptians will not take authoritarian rule anymore. this is not coming from an analyst or an activist. it is what you hear all over prepared -- all over. >> the president still has plenty of supporters who believe they are protecting the resin -- the revolution.

tonight's speech will be the signal for more demonstrations, and quite likely, more conflict between them. >> the syrian government is under increasing pressure tonight. the american and russian foreign ministers met with the u.n. envoy on syria and hillary clinton said events on the ground in syria are accelerating. she also joined the u.s. defense secretary in expressing concern that damascus is considering using chemical weapons against the rebels. >> i think there is no question that we remain very concerned, very concerned. as the opposition advances, in particular on damascus, the regime might very well consider the use of chemical weapons. >> secretary panetta went on to say that the white house made it clear there will be consequences should the assad regime make the mistake of using

those weapons on its own people. for more on the perspective from damascus, i spoke a short time ago to the bbc's jeremy bolon -- jeremy bowen. >> the issue has been pretty firm on the use of chemical weapons. any news from damascus? >> i think the regime here can feel the pressure. it has been under huge pressure in the last couple of weeks, increasing pressure. of the most pressure has faced from the west, certainly, in the almost two years this has been going on. i spoke before panetta made his remarks to the information minister and he repeated one of their official positions, which is that they say they do not have chemical weapons. of course, there's plenty of evidence that they do. and what he also said was that if they had them, they would never use them.

>> people talk about a tipping point in syria. what is going to take make outside bandeau -- to make assad go. are they any closer to that moment? >> it has been hard to get a sense of that because of the lack of the visas. the strain of the war on the government buildings, there are signs of bomb damage. lots of roads are closed. traffic is fine award check points. only a few roads are available. and going out of the city into the suburban areas that are held by the free syrian army. what you can see is a deterioration in the position of the regime and the strain of war as well.

will that result in and trying to somehow do a deal? i do not know. but i know that a political deal is the only real choice the syrians have. if they do not get that, they face a long and bloody war. >> today, we have the american and russian foreign ministers meeting with the u.n. envoy to syria at a conference in ireland. russia has been a key player. do you understand whether the russians are getting closer to a western position when it comes to assad's future? >> if they are common their remarks from the meeting did not seem to suggest that they were prepared to go the extra mile or make some kind of deal. the issue is the fact that the u.n. security council is paralyzed. paralyzed over this whole issue of syria. the western countries have one position. russia and china have another. both sides actually need to move.

holding on to positions that do not work. and the absence of a security council resolution means the joint u.n./terribly peace mission -- the joint u.n.-piece -- the joint u.n.-arab league peace mission is at a standstill it is hard for them to make progress. if they cannot make progress, then as things began to fragment here, more people die and the big worry is that syria might even descend into being a failed state. >> and now we go to retired general james dupnik at the institute for the study of war. thank you for coming in,

general. how much do we know about what the syrians have in terms of chemical weaponry? >> i'm sure our intelligence agencies know a lot more than we do in reading the newspaper. but there's always a degree of ambiguity. we know 85% to 90 percent of what they are duly, but -- to 90% of what they are doing, but there's always an element of the unknown gruden >> what of their storage facilities? >> i think we would know about -- about their production facilities or their habitual storage facilities, but it is entirely possible that we do not know about some other facilities, or some facility that is not actually a storage spot. >> i have been struck in the last few days by the strength of the rhetoric coming from the white house. we heard it again from leon panetta. the americans are clearly drawn a line here saying, you cannot use these weapons there is the

suggestion that it might be the syrian plan. what are the options for caring -- for taking out those chemical stockpiles, if any? >> i do not see an occupying force imposing security as a viable option. short of that, what you're talking about is some sort of air campaign, maybe in conjunction with selected rebel groups or not. that is about it right now for military options. >> is it possible to take up the chemical weapons inside? gregg's that depends on what weapons and where they are stored. -- >> that depends on what weapons and where they are stored. we need to get the logistics in place. we need to pull the aircraft together, manned and unmanned, and get the search and rescue together and get that prepared so that if a decision is made, the military force is ready to execute.

>> i assume there are risks involved with bombing sites that have chemical weapons. these things can be dispersed. >> that is right. and depending on the kind of weapon that we are talking about, the chemical weapon, each one has a different order call for attack. it is best not to talk about operational details ahead of time, but it is not easy and it is complicated. it would pose a risk because the steering and air defense system is relatively robust -- the syrian air defense system is relatively robust. >> could you cause damage to civilians living in the area? >> it could happen. depending on the agent and the attacker call you would want to minimize that. but as a surgical airstrikes would be, there would be every time some degree of risk. >> thank you for joining us. a look at some other news from around the world, the head of afghanistan's intelligence services has survived an assassination attempt in kabul.

the tobben -- the taliban said it has targeted him. he previously served as the governor of kandahar and has been accused of torture during that timeframe. he denies the allegations. mr. mcafee has been rushed to hospital in guatemala after suffering a heart attack. he fled from police after being named a% interest in an investigation for murder. and another person in charge of manslaughter after the death of a football lineman. he was viciously attacked in which -- in an amateur league match in which his own son was playing. lighting up the spacey but -- the space needle in seattle last night as the clock struck midnight and the state and ushered in a new law making marijuana legal.

it raises questions about the drug war more widely is being waged. it is the subject of a new documentary, "breaking the taboo," which criticizes the narcotics trade. we sit down with those who produced the film. >> the amount of people consuming drugs worldwide is growing dramatically. the number of people going to prison is growing dramatically. and countries that are present about drugs are suffering. and the people in particular are suffering. countries like portugal and spain, which are treating it as a health issue rather than a criminal issue are getting on top of the problem. >> are you advocating the legalization of drugs? >> globally, we have tried different approaches. the legalization of canvas or

the regulation of canada's, would like to see -- seecannabis or the regulationcannabis, would like to see country try that. we would like to see the regulation. correct here in the united states today, possessing small amounts of marijuana becomes legal in washington state. do you expect federal law to change? >> we will see. this is a lot like what happened with the repeal of all in the late -- the repeal of alcohol. state's first did it and then eventually the national government followed suit. washington and colorado became the first two states, not just the first two states, but the first two political

jurisdictions anywhere in the world to do this. i think eventually feller what -- federal law will follow. >> and don't you worry that legalizing drugs would just lead to more people using drugs and even more crime? >> this is not about legalizing all drugs. it is about the legalization of marijuana. it is about saying that the country is evenly split. in fact, a small majority now say that it should be regulated like alcohol. is there a risk? yes, but not a dramatic increase. and meanwhile, no longer are arresting 750,000 americans a year, no longer spending tens of millions of dollars for enforced prohibition, taking the money out of gangs and other areas that are real crimes. isn't there a worry that you just empower other

gangs if you legalize it? >> i don't follow that. the states are now subprime -- supplying her when to the people with a heroin problem. they have taken it away completely from the underworld that was supplying the arwin. and they have managed to reduce the number of people taking hair when and by giving them clean needles, they are not spreading hiv. >> harrah one is a lucrative drug, is in it? you do not expect things just to give up like that. >> their competitive and outages in the employment of violence and intimidation -- their competitive advantage is in the employment of violence and intimidation not competition. >> five years from now, what do you hope the world looks like? >> i hope no one will ever be sent to prison for taking drugs ever again. i hope everyone with a drug problem will be helped.

some countries will experiment with deregulation of drugs like marijuana. i hope the money that the states get for that deregulation will go to education, health, and helping people with drug or a call problems. -- or alcohol problems. >> still to come, the duchess of cambridge is released from hospital, but now the couple has some serious decisions to make. the government of the philippines made an emotional appeal to four more to be done about climate change they after a deadly typhoon swept through the country this week, killing at least 300. from manila, here's the latest. >> a life -- alive against all the odds. carlos was inside his house when it was buried beneath a torrent of mud and water.

>> we were hearing like the wind that night. we did not know where to run. the wind and rain brought by the typhoon were so strong i thought we would not survive. >> but for every purse and pulled from the rubble, there are many others still missing. all their relatives can do is can the list of names and wait. >> what else can i think of about what happened to my husband? i hope to see him alive, but if not, i just want to see him again. >> those who survive have lost everything. dependent on the government and aid agencies for basic supplies. others are seeking urgent medical care after being hit by falling trees and debris flying around by the typhoon. but they will also need long- term health. houses have been destroyed. roads are rendered impossible. power lines are cut.

these banana trees were someone's livelihood. now they are worthless. along with more than half of the crops in this province. but right now, the human issue is of utmost concern. people continue to arrive at emergency shelters desperate for help. and still, the rescuers keeps searching for those clinging to life. when they find someone come on like this 3-year-old boy, there is a brief moment of joy amid all the grief and devastation. bbc news, mcgovern -- manila. >> the duchess of cambridge is back home tonight after being discharged from the central london hospital where she was being treated for acute morning sickness. she left hospital saying she would felt much better and is recovering tonight in the palace.

>> kate, how are you feeling? >> much better, came the reply. she emerged from hospitals, looking more subdued than normal, but that is expected. she was taken from the king edward vii hospital from london harley street to the couple's home at kensington palace for what officials say will be a time of arrest. her recovery is certainly a relief for the royal family. prince charles visiting members of the commonwealth expedition even managed to joke about the australian press and call to the hospital. -- prank call to the hospital. >> [indiscernible] that is funded. -- splendid. >> the important thing for kay

now, according to doctors, is to get as much rest as possible. >> she should be resting and avoiding any commitments that are not the central. if she doesn't, her rummaging could get worse again and she could end up back in hospital. >> but the need to protect a cake and the unborn baby raised some are to go issues for the couple. the royal doctors here in london are hardly going to be content at the moment for kate to return to north wales where william is based as and rsv search and rescue pilots. both of them has -- have decisions to make. kate must decide whether she stays in london, but would have to be without william's full time support. he is needed back in the north. and william must decide in the next few weeks whether to remain as a search and rescue pilot, and research -- to switch to another role, or leave the

military altogether. all in all, some serious discussions when they meet with the family over christmas. >> the edges of cambridge is back home tonight. brasilia is not simply design, it is choreographed. that was many -- one of the many patribute paid to the man respoe or for the 20th-century modern buildings in the brazilian capital. he died last night at the age of 104. we have a look at his legacy. >> oscar niemeyer was one of the world's greatest architects. the modernist master who added a tropical twist. the creator of beautiful buildings made from concrete and curves. >> when you have a large space to conquer, the curve is a natural solution.

i once wrote a poem about the curve. the curb i find in the mountains of my country, in this tenuousness of the rivers, in the waves of the ocean, on the body of the beloved women. >> after the war, he elaborated with another architect on the united nations building in new york. it made niemeyer's mainame. in 1996 he received -- in 1956 he received the commission of a lifetime. he was asked to design the capitol building in brazil. the buildings he produced and became instant icons and an inspiration to the next generation of architects. >> he was an influence on my becoming an architect so long ago. and he was just incredibly creative until the end. his passion was architecture,

but his passion was life. that is why he lived so long. >> the 1964 military coup in brazil led to the openly communist niemeyer leading to live in paris. he returned some years later and ensure the before his 90th birthday produced this. the museum of contemporary art. a spectacular masterpiece. oscar niemeyer never stopped working, were stopped believing that architecture could make the world a better place. which most would agree in his case, it did. >> finally tonight, this incredible new view of our planet. these images were captured by a nasa satellite traveling some 800 kilometers above earth. the satellite is usually used for looking at weather events. as you can see your, the cameras

are also very good at capturing the lights of our cities at night. that brings the program to a close. tune in tomorrow when i sit down with the head of the imf, christine lagarde. thanks for watching. good night. >> makes sense of international news at bbc.com/news. >> funding of this presentation was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu, newman's own foundation, and union bank. >> at union bank, our relationship managers work hard to understand the industry you

operate in, working to nurture new ventures and help provide capital for key strategic decisions. we offer expertise and tailored solutions in a wide range of industries. what can we do for you? >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet, los angeles. presented by kcet, los angeles.